Thursday, October 31, 2013

NOVEMBER NEWS for JK PARENTS

Click here for the JUNIOR KINDERGARTEN NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER.
THE BODY  /  LE CORPS

NOVEMBER NEWS for SK PARENTS

Click here for the SENIOR KINDERGARTEN NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER.


COSTUMES ARE FUN!

The Halloween Parade was a great success!   We walked around the school hallways while the rest of the students cheered "HAPPY HALLOWEEN!" 

We all had a costume or a fun hat on to celebrate the day.

Thanks go out to the Pigeon family for bringing in a small pumpkin for every child in the JK classes.

Special thanks also go out to several other families from both JK and SK classes who also sent in special treats for their child's classmates. That is very kind and generous. 

(A friendly reminder to ensure anything sent to school is marked "Nut-free" for the health and safety of those with life-threatening allergies. Thank you again for your care in this regard.)


Wednesday, October 23, 2013

PLEASE REMEMBER!

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25th 
- School PHOTO RETAKES
(*  If you would like your child's photo retaken, please send a note to the teacher prior to this date.) 




       - HALLOWE'EN FAMILY FUN NIGHT / DANCE  >> 6 - 8 PM







WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30th 
- JK and SK Fall Progress Checklists will be sent home. These informal assessments are "teacher-created" & will provide basic feedback that can be used for our discussion at INTERVIEWS on THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7. 
(The formal report cards will be sent home in February and June.)











THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31st 
- HALLOWE'EN!  
- All Kindergarten students will be participating in a COSTUME PARADE!
 (*If they do not wish to wear a costume, please wear orange and/or black for our parade. 
    FYI: Children usually take off all or some pieces of their costumes after the parade.)

LEARNING SELF-REGULATION

We may wonder how does one learn or teach self-control?

The more pertinent question becomes "What are we doing to help children learn about it?" Obviously, they need to experience what it feels like!  Therefore, for children to practice self-control they need to be given opportunities to be in control.

Learning self-control requires lots of practice! Plus somebody needs to facilitate the learning by offering support, suggesting strategies and coping skills - especially when self-regulation is bound to be a challenge.  That "somebody" refers to parents, teachers, other adults, and sometimes even peers. 

School is a place where students must demonstrate ever-increasing self-regulation ability. Kindergarten provides the second environment (2nd to home) where self-control  is demanded of them (ie. to wait one's turn, share physical space, or a toy, and engage in ACTIVE listening). 
ACTIVE listening means full attention and focus with their ears, eyes, and body.  The first environment naturally being their home and with parents, the 'wait time' (and therefore, self-control time) is often shorter because there are fewer people involved. School creates a very demanding environment for learning these skills because 'wait time' can be longer or more complex due to pure numbers of those involved or the demands of the situation (ie. school bus' departure). 

In order to facilitate this essential learning of "How to DO school", we will be practising self-control through daily routines and games.  We encourage you to be aware of any effort that your child demonstrates in this regard at home and then reinforce by rewarding them for it! 

Here are a couple of examples of exercises that we have done to help them learn what "self-control" looks and feels like:

1. Let the bubbles float!  DON'T POP THEM! 
                   (The teacher blows bubbles while students resist the urge to pop them.)

2. Keep the musical instrument quiet!  
    (Pass around an instrument without shaking or playing it.)


Naturally, we will reward the self-control exhibited during these games by popping bubbles and playing musical instruments at a later time.  



Self-regulation is an essential life skill!  

Experiencing, practicing and gradually increasing one's self-control, will help tame the natural impulsivity of young children. Learning to be an active listener, maintain spatial boundaries, and sit still are all required skills to successfully function in our society, particularly in the learning environment. 

Thank you again for your efforts and support in this regard.

Saturday, October 12, 2013

NOTEWORTHY DATES and EVENTS!

OCTOBER
15th - Marcia Tate 7 - 8:30 PM at Holy Trinity High School
        - She is a fantastic, knowledgeable speaker! I would highly 
          recommend attending this event! (I will definitely be there.)

16th - our annual Holy Redeemer WALK-A-THON  fund-raiser after lunch
        - JK's will participate in their own walk-a-thon in the morning
          (Parent volunteers are welcome to attend either event.) 

25th - School PHOTO RETAKES; if you would like your child's photo
          retaken, please send a note to the teacher prior to this date.

        - HALLOWE'EN FAMILY FUN NIGHT / DANCE 
                                      >> 6 - 8 PM


30th - JK and SK Fall Progress Checklists will be
          sent home. These informal assessments are
          "teacher-created".  (The formal report cards
          will be sent home in February and June.)




31st - HALLOWE'EN!  All Kindergarten students will be participating in a
          hallway COSTUME PARADE for the rest of the school population! 
          (If they do not wish to wear a costume, please wear orange and/or
          black for our parade. FYI: Children usually take off all or some
          pieces of their costumes after the parade.)
NOVEMBER
 1st - All Saints Day
5th - School Council - 6:30 pm
7th - Parent-Teacher INTERVIEWS:  3-5pm / Dinner Break / 6-8pm

8th - PD Day: "Christian Community Day" for all OCSB staff members

11th - REMEMBRANCE DAY: Please encourage your little one to "thank"
          a veteran and/or any member of our Canadian Armed Forces. Poppies
          will be available at school, please send in a donation to support this
          worthy cause.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

THANKSGIVING FRUIT SALAD FOR JKs

Just a reminder that JUNIOR Kindergarten classes will be celebrating Thanksgiving with a wonderful fruit salad made from a combination of each child's contribution of cut up BITE SIZE pieces of fruit. 

If each child brings a small container of either berries, apple pieces or grapes or whatever, we will have a wonderful FEAST!! 

Thank you in advance for your help in this regard.

May you have a blessed family-filled weekend!  

IT'S A LONG WEEKEND!

FRIDAY is a Professional Development Day for OCSB staff.
     
MONDAY is a holiday.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

GREEN TO GROW FOR JOE!

Joseph (Joe) is a grade 6 student at our school who suffers from Dravet’s syndrome. We would like to
help his mom out with funds to assist with Joseph’s treatment. Please bring a loonie or a toonie on
October 10 and wear green to support Joseph.  Thank you in advance for supporting one of our
students.

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/battle-withmalignant-epilepsy-joseph-vs-dravet-syndrome


Ms. Schlesak's class

Would parents be so kind as to send in flyers of food items for the students to paste on Wednesday and Thursday.
The colour/couleur de la semaine/week is blue/bleu. If you have pictures of anything blue (i.e. would not be returned) please send them in with your child.
There is a Thanksgiving Mass on Thursday. Please check the school website to confirm the time. Families are welcome to attend. We have been focusing on making the sign of the cross in class and this month the prayer is the Hail Mary. Please practise reciting the prayer with your child before they go to bed.

Hail Mary full of grace
The Lord is with thee
Blessed are you amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus
Holy Mary Mother of God
Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death
Amen

Please sign up to follow me on Twitter @natalieschlesak. I continue to be amazed each day with all the learning that is taking place.  Yesterday, Joel came to school with his name printed. He is very proud of his accomplishment. Way to go, Joel!  Please encourage your son or daughter to practise printing their names with the capital letter followed by lowercase letters. We will continue to work on this skill throughout the year.
As part of the math program (counting to 10 en francais), a ten frame will be included in each mailbag starting next week. Each day if the mailbag is returned to school, your child will colour in one square of the ten frame or dab a dot with the bingo dabber provided on each table. Once the frame is filled out, they will receive a prize. Please encourage your child to get into the habit of removing the mail from the mailbag. This is a great routine for them to get used to as they progress through the grades.
Here are the numbers in French: un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf, dix. There are great Youtube videos of cartoon characters counting to 10 in French.  Make it fun!!
I would like to wish all the families a safe and happy Thanksgiving. May you enjoy the beautiful weather with family and friends!! 

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

JUNIOR Kindergarten OCTOBER Newsletter NOW AVAILABLE!

                     
                           Click the following link for the
                          JUNIOR Kindergarten OCTOBER newsletter.




JUNIOR KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS ONLY!

This month JK teachers will be completing a  Speech & Language Assessment of each child that "flags" potential concerns.   When concerns are noted, a copy of the assessment form will be sent home.   We would also phone you to discuss any area of concern.  

When a student is 'flagged' for further assessment we recommend parents attend a "First Words Screening Clinic", where a Speech & Language Pathologist carries out some simple tests.  These clinics are offered through the City of Ottawa Public Health Dept. and are funded by the Ministry of Health.  

For dates and times of these Screening Clinics, click here for the "First Words" website.
Call Ottawa Public Health at (613) 580-6744 extension 28020 and speak to a Public Health Nurse for more information.

* Please note that this assessment is not only for physical articulation concerns, since many of these are age appropriate, but also for processing concerns - in regards to both receptive and expressive language.

Thank you in advance for your consideration in this matter.

YOU CAN FOLLOW US ON TWITTER!



@natalieschlesak

@chrisblahout